Everything Old is New Again
by Rachael Greene
Summary: It has been two months since school has started. Ryan and Marissa are together. Is Ryan the father of Theresa's child? Caleb's Will is read. Are the Dean and Taylor having an affair? Kirsten decides whether to come home or not. Ryan's father comes back.
1. Fall is in the Air

The leaves had turned their colors, and had fallen off of the trees. The grass was more faded than usual, and the air had a nip to it, especially at night. School was in full swing. Fall was upon them in Newport Beach. Things appeared to be prosperous and happy from the perspective of an outsider, but on the inside of Newport, things were as grim as ever. Not much has changed in the past two months.

Two months later, and Kirsten had still not come home. She enjoyed living with Charlotte, and had not felt this free since she was in college, when she met Sandy. Kirsten enjoyed being able to not have to worry about what to have for supper, or hosting a party. She was free to do what she wanted, when she wanted. It was not that Sandy was a controlling husband, it was merely the fact that there was someone there watching her every move, even if they didn't intend to.

Sandy missed his wife more and more every day, but he knew that they were slowly becoming different people. There was not a minute of the day that he did not think about her, or trying to bring her home. However, he knew that he could not do that. Only she could decide when she wanted to come home to Newport. He felt very alone and depressed; however, he tried to hide it in front of Seth and Ryan as much as possible. Sandy tried to pretend everything was going to be all right, even when he did not know that. Especially in front of Seth, who now had to live there without his mother in the house, which was hard for him. Ryan could face the reality of things, even though he did not want to. It was hard for him to see a family he loved break up for a second time.

Ryan was still attending Harbor and achieving excellence without really having to make a considerable effort. Although, the school seemed more empty without Marissa there. It just was not the same when she did not plan the Kick Off Carnival or the winter dance. He tried to be as positive and helpful as he could for Marissa. He told her about the important stuff that she would need to know for public school, like don't use the bathrooms alone, someone might be getting beaten up in there. He also hoped for Kirsten to come home; however, he did not think it was going to happen. Of course, he did tend to have a negative outlook on things, considering his upbringing.

Marissa was adjusting to her new school. The rigor of the classes was considerably easier, but she liked the people who attended the school, which made the experience livable. Word had spread to her new school about what had happened; however, they were not like the gossip mongrels at Harbor. She and Ryan were still together, which made her happy, as well. Although things were not the way they used to be, things were not bad for Marissa Cooper. Her family was back together. Her parents were not dating, per se, they were just seeing if they could take each other's company for long periods of time, again. Kaitlin was back at home. Things were all right, over all.

Summer did not know how to handle school without Marissa. Her lifeline was gone. Usually, Marissa was in some of her classes, or at least in her lunch, and now, she was not there to talk to anymore. Her best friend at Harbor now was Seth, but listening to him talk about comic books all the time did not entertain her to any end. Now a days, she would just see Marissa after school sometimes. She felt as if her best friend were drifting away sometimes. Marissa was off making new friends at Newport Union, while Summer was still at Harbor with the same people they had known since first grade. Marissa's world was changing while Summer's was not.

Seth tried to be there for Summer, but he just did not know how. He tried to feel for her, but it was hard for him because he was unable to process anything emotional most of the time. Most of the time, his thoughts were else where. Seth thought about his mother a lot. He wondered when she was coming home, or if she was coming home. He wondered if it was something that he did, which caused his mother to want to stay somewhere else. He tried to hide how much he missed her, but sometimes it was evident.

Julie was trying to get at Caleb's will. His attorney said that the will could not be read for awhile for various reasons; however, Julie needed that money. She wanted to know if she had gotten anything out of it, or if when Caleb had gotten his divorce papers, he had changed his will, as well. She and Jimmy were still together, at the moment. They were trying to see if things between them would still really work, or if they would turn out like it did before. She and he were not rushing into anything because they did not want to upset Marissa's delicate emotional balance which was in place. They wanted to be sure of it before they went to the alter again.

Things had changed in Orange County. Everything was not like it used to be. Their worlds had been flipped upside down. Everything old was new again for the Cohen and Cooper families.


	2. Captain Crunch

That Tuesday Sandy walked into the kitchen at seven in the morning. Normally, he did not have to be to work until around nine; however, he had an early court date this morning. He came into the kitchen to find Seth and Ryan eating breakfast. Seth was eating Kellogg's Special K cereal, and Ryan was eating Captain Crunch. Sandy went to get some orange juice out of the refrigerator; however, they drank the last of it. He made a mental note to get some more on his way home that evening. Sandy did not have to drive them to school this year because with Kirsten gone, they were able to take the Range Rover to and from school.

"Good morning, guys," Sandy greeted them.

"'Morning," Ryan replied between bites of cereal. He was sitting next to Seth at the island.

"Hey, Dad," Seth said. He was just about finished with his bowl of cereal.

"So I was thinking that maybe we might go out tonight, for pizza or something? It seems like we are always stuck in the house. I thought it might be nice to go out for a change," Sandy told the boys.

"Sure, I guess," Seth mumbled. He knew his father was trying, but he really missed his mother. Even though he had been without her for an entire summer a year before, it seemed odd to be at his own house, and not have his mother around, especially at night or in the morning.

"What about you, Ryan? Wanna go out for dinner tonight?" Sandy asked him.

"Yeah, sure, sounds great," Ryan replied. He finished popping the Captain Crunch into his mouth. He finished off the last of his orange juice, got up, and put his dishes into the sink.

Since Kirsten had been gone, they had all been taking turns doing the dishes. Typically, when Kirsten was there, she and Sandy would do the dishes together. If they did not have a lot to do, she would wash them, and he would dry them. If there were a lot to do, she would rinse them, and he would put them into the dishwasher. This was a time that they would spend together nearly every night. They would talk about their days, and bond. Now one of them would do the dishes. They would just throw them into the dishwasher every night. It was less time consuming, which made the task easier to handle.

"So, Dad, why are you going to work this early?" Seth asked. He sat looking across to his father.

"I have an early court date, son. I can't even go surfing this morning," Sandy told him, sadly.

"Hey, man, come on. We're going to be late for school, if you don't hurry up," Ryan said to Seth. Ryan had gone and gotten his messenger bag. He was waiting for Seth in the doorway.

"Dude, I'm going as fast as I can. The hoover can only suck up so much at a time," Seth replied, sarcastically. He gulped down the rest of the orange juice, got up, put his dishes in the sink, grabbed his backpack, and began to walk out the door with Ryan.

"See you tonight, guys," Sandy yelled after them.

"Bye," Seth and Ryan replied in unison, as they walked out the door.


	3. Surprise Visit

The bell rang at school. It was noon, which was lunchtime. Ryan walked out of his statistics class, and found Seth and Summer, down the hall. He walked over to them. Their lunch group just was not the same without Marissa anymore. Ryan had essentially become the third wheel. Seth and Summer tried their best to make him feel part of the group, but it was hard because they were a couple. They stood there for a moment. Ryan was facing Seth and Summer.

"So what do you guys want to do for lunch?" Seth asked. "I'm not really in the mood for tuna salad today."

"Yeah, wanna go to the drive-thru or something?" Summer brought up.

"Okay," Ryan replied. He agreed with them that it would be a good idea, to get away from school for lunch. The three of them walked towards the exit of the school towards the parking lot. They walked over to the Range Rover. They did not take Summer's car because it was nearly out of gas.

"I wish Coop were here," Summer sighed.

"Me too, but unfortunately... she isn't," Ryan replied. He unlocked the doors and was about to step into the car, when someone walked up to him. She was tall, but not as tall as Marissa. She had dark, long hair and eyes. Her skin was white, but darker than Ryan's, Seth's or Summer's. She was probably of Hispanic descent. She was not dressed quite as expensively as the other kids who went to Harbor. Ryan was speechless.

"Theresa, hey! What are you doing here?" Seth asked awkwardly. He smiled and waved, even though he was not happy to see her there. Summer just kept looking back and forth among the three of them, not sure what was going on, or what had happened.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to Ryan. I hadn't seen him in awhile," Theresa explained. "Ryan do you think we could talk somewhere?"

He looked at Seth and Summer. He felt bad abandoning them for lunch. Partly because he was hungry, and partly because he really wanted to spend time with them.

"Seth and I will take my car, and go somewhere, how 'bout that?" Summer suggested. "Ryan can take this car."

"Okay," Seth replied. "Dude, I'll see you later, all right?" Seth told him. He waved to Theresa and Ryan, and walked off with Summer to her car.

Ryan turned to Theresa from waving them off and said, "So where do you want to go?"

After about a five minute drive, the two of them got to the Burger King near by. In the car, she had not said much. They had just exchanged the usual greetings, and updates about their lives. This annoyed Ryan to no end because he knew that something was up for her to come all the way from Chino to Newport. He did not say anything though, and just drove up to where they ordered.

"What do you want?" Ryan asked her.

"The number four," she replied. He told the voice on the other end of the line their orders, and drove around to the window to pay and pick them up. After he had received their orders, he drove into one of the parking spaces, where he could stop the car, eat, and talk.

"So what did you really come to Newport for?" Ryan asked her, cutting to the chase. He took a bite of his cheeseburger, and looked at her. "I mean, I haven't seen you in months. We don't really stay in contact, so what's up?"

"Well, I might as well, come right out and say it," Theresa sighed. "Last year, when you went to Portland, I called you and told you that I lost the baby, remember?"

Ryan nodded and replied, "Does this have something to do with that?"

She sighed. Theresa knew she had to tell him, "Ryan I didn't loose the baby. I lied. My mom told me to tell you, so that way you could go back to your new life and be happy. At the time, I didn't know who the father was, but I know now. You can see it."

Ryan sat there for a second. The rage was building inside of him. Theresa was about to speak when Ryan said, "Oh that's it? God damn it, Theresa! Why would you lie about something like that? Something as important as that! And why would you tell me now!" He got more heated with every second that passed.

"I did it to make you happy," she replied.

"Well, am I happy, huh? Do I look happy? God damn it! Why tell me now!" Ryan demanded.

"I understand that this is a lot to take in, but you have to understand that I didn't _want _to tell you, I had to. My mom lost her job. I can't work a full week because I'm not eighteen, I have a baby, and I'm still in school... sometimes," Theresa began to explain. "We have no money."

"And you want me to pay child support?" Ryan asked. Theresa bowed her head down, almost as if in shame.

"Ryan, you should see him. His eyes. His hair. He looks like you," Theresa told him, trying to change the subject slightly.

"And you want me to pay child support?" Ryan asked, again.

Theresa nodded her head, "Yes, I do. You don't have to right away. You can meet him and spend some time with him first, if you want?"

The rage began to drain from Ryan's face. He was still angry, but he knew that he could not fight about this, or afford to be pissed about it. "What's his name?" Ryan wondered, aloud.

"Matthew," Theresa replied.

Ryan thought it over for a second, and replied, "All right. I'm going to go home, and talk to Sandyafter school, and why don't you and... your baby come over later, this evening."

Theresa nodded her head, and said, "All right, I'll see you then."

Ryan started the car and headed off back to school, and to drop Theresa off at her car. Things were different now. He knew that when he told Sandy, he would have to tell Marissa too.


	4. Family Dinner

"Hey, Dude, what can you do? I mean, if it's your kid, you need to take care of it, right?" Seth asked, as they played the new Star Wars game for Playstation 2, in the pool house. They were waiting for Sandy to come home from work. Ryan had already called him twice, and he was afraid that if he called a third time, he might get mad. He had not said why, though. This was urgent though. He needed to tell Sandy and Marissa before Theresa came over. Ryan had just called Marissa a few minutes earlier, and asked if she could come over. She agreed, naturally, and said that she would be right over.

"I guess, Man, but I wanna talk to your dad and Marissa about it first before anything is done," Ryan told Seth. He was still staring at the television screen, playing the game.

At four o' clock on the dot, Sandy Cohen walked in the door. He set his briefcase down near the door, and walked into the kitchen and family room. Seth and Ryan were not there, so he figured they were in the pool house. Sandy walked in. He found the two of them sitting down playing video games. They appeared to be glued to the tube, until Ryan saw Sandy. He jumped up immediately.

"Hey, what was so important to talk to me about?" Sandy asked Ryan.

"Well, I want to wait for Marissa to get here, but can we go into a private place, like your office or something?" Ryan replied.

"Okay," Sandy said. They began to walk into the house, leaving Seth to himself and the Playstation in the pool house. "You and Marissa aren't thinking about getting married right?"

Ryan chuckled for moment, and replied, "Uh, no. Not exactly. We should wait until she gets here."

The door bell rang then. Ryan ran over to answer it. Marissa was standing there. She smiled at him, and said, "Hey!" She kissed him, and then stepped inside. "What was so urgent?"

Sandy looked back and forth between the two of them for a moment. Clearly, Marissa did not know what was going on either. For a moment, he was beginning to suspect that she was pregnant now, or something like that. They walked into Sandy's office and sat down.

"So Ryan, what's so pressing?" Sandy asked. He was a little concerned.

"Remember when Seth and I came back last summer. Remember why I came back?" Ryan began to explain.

"Yeah, it was because Theresa lost the baby, and you weren't happy there anyways," Marissa said, filing in the blank.

"Well, today at school, she comes up to me at lunch, and wanted to talk to me. It turns out that she lied. Theresa had the baby, and she said it was mine. She lied so I would come back here, and be happy, which I am," Ryan continued.

"Oh, my god..." Marissa muttered. She knew that this meant.

"And now... she wants child support," Ryan explained. Marissa and Sandy looked at him with shock. They could not believe what was happening.

"Well, legally, she is entitled to it, but how could she do this to you? I always thought she was a good kid," Sandy replied.

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry. I don't want to have to ask for this, but I mean, I didn't even know... she is coming over here in about an hour... with the baby. She wanted me to meet him first," Ryan told them. Marissa still had not said anything. She was still in shock.

"It'll be okay, Kid. We'll get you through it," Sandy told him. He patted him on the back as he was about to exit the room. "I guess we'd better not go out then. I'll go start supper."

Marissa looked at Ryan. She had tears in her eyes. She could not believe this was happening again. She looked at him and asked, "So what does this mean for us?"

"This doesn't mean anything for us. I meant what I said. I want to make this work, no matter what, and nothing could change that," Ryan told her. He touched her face, and smiled at her.

"I hope so," Marissa said, trying to smile through the tears.

"Wanna go out to the pool house?" I know Seth is out there," Ryan asked her. She nodded her head, and the two of them headed out to the pool house to watch some video games. They sat there for about an hour, watching Seth battle his level 1 arch nemesis. Marissa was beginning to enjoy herself, finally. She decided that she would not let this bother her. She tried to believe what Ryan said, that they would make it through this.

Then Sandy came out to see them. He told them that dinner was ready, and Theresa had arrived. Seth walked out of the pool house, and into the kitchen first. For starters, he really enjoyed what they were having for dinner that night - sloppy joes. He waved to Theresa, and sat down at the table, where his father had directed him to, which was on the end. The baby was sitting next to Theresa. Next, came Ryan and Marissa, they were holding hands, being a united front. They sat down next to each other, across from Theresa. Sandy was the last person to sit down for dinner.

"Gee, Mr. Cohen, the food looks great!" Theresa exclaimed. "Where is Mrs. Cohen?"

The table got silent for a moment.

"Kirsten... Kirsten doesn't live here right now," Sandy told her.

"Sorry for asking, I didn't mean to impose or anything," she replied.

"So how are things... in Chino?" Seth asked Theresa, trying to make conversation.

"Okay, I guess," she told him. "So how's school here for you guys?"

"Fine," Ryan replied. "What does it matter to you?"

"Ryan, I was just trying to make conversation, that's all," Theresa retorted. She was getting angry, and so was he.

"School's fine, really," Marissa said, stepping in. "I don't go to Harbor anymore, though."

"Why not?" Theresa asked between bites.

"It just wasn't the right fit for me anymore," Marissa told her, partially lying, and partially telling the truth. She really did not want to drudge up the past. "I go to Newport Union now. I like it there. The people are more..."

"Real," Theresa and Marissa said at the same time. The rest of the dinner was eaten of almost complete silence. When they were done, Sandy cleared the table. Seth excused himself and went to his room. This left Ryan, Marissa, and Theresa at the table. Nothing was said for a minute or so. Everything was very awkward among them.

"Wanna go into the living room?" Ryan suggested. Everyone nodded. Marissa followed Ryan into the living with Theresa and the baby not far behind. Once again, they sat there for a minute, not knowing what to do.

Finally, Theresa said, "This is Matthew." She sat him down on the floor. He was about six months old by now. He could sit there and suck on his hand by himself. He was cute. Matthew was dressed in little blue overalls with little white socks.

"Well, he's cute," Ryan stated. Marissa glared at him. "What?"

"All babies are cute," Marissa reminded him.

"All right, let's cut to the chase, how much do you want?" Ryan asked Theresa.

"Ryan, I'm not going to ask for a lot. I've known you way too long, and we've been through way too much for me to screw you over," Theresa explained to him.

"How much, Theresa?" he asked, again, getting slightly angry.

"Three-hundred and sixty-two dollars a month," she told him. He looked a little shocked, but he let it sink in.

"All right... then do I get to see him?" Ryan asked her.

"What do you mean?" Theresa asked, not sure of what he meant.

"I mean, I'm paying you all this money, but do I get visitations? I mean, you claim I'm the kid's father," Ryan restated.

"Ryan, I don't want you to get involved. You're happy right now. I just really needed the money right now, or otherwise, I wouldn't have asked you," Theresa told him.

"Clearly you did want me to get involved, otherwise, you wouldn't have asked," Ryan retorted.

She sighed and said, "Fine, how about every other weekend, he comes here. I'll drive one way, and you drive one way, how 'bout that? We'll start this weekend. I'll drive him here, you can drive him home."

"Fine, and when you bring him, I'll have your money for you," Ryan told her.

"Fine," Theresa replied. She looked at her watch. "I think I'm going to get going now. I'll see you Friday night, how 'bout that?"

"Fine, I'll see you then," he said. Ryan and Marissa walked Theresa and the baby to the door. He just hoped this was all she would ask for.


	5. Morning Coffee

Julie Cooper stood in front of her coffee maker watching the machine percolate come out. She was late getting ready to go visit Caleb's attorney. She could not understand why his will could not be read, thus, why she was having the meeting with him. Julie was anxious for it to be read because without his money, she and the family would have to move and start over, which was something she did not want to go through again.

Jimmy walked into the kitchen just then. He had just woken up, and was hungry. He asked, "Hey, Jules, why are you so dressed up... so early?"

"Well, if you must know," she told him. She poured herself a cup of coffee. "I have a meeting with Caleb's attorney. This is some confusion about when the will can be read."

"Oh. Did he leave you anything?" Jimmy asked. He sat down at the table. He thought the question was appropriate, considering he had given her divorce papers before his death.

"Honestly, Jimmy, I don't know. I hope so, but I really don't know," Julie replied between drinks.

"Well, I guess you'd better go and find out," Jimmy told her. He picked up a copy of the paper, and began to read it.

"Actually, speaking of finding out, do you know what's wrong with Marissa. She seems awfully upset, and she seemed to be doing great just yesterday morning. I figured since you are closer to her, you might know," Julie said, wanting to know.

"She hasn't said anything to me yet. I mean, I noticed that something was wrong, but I wanted to wait for her to tell me, it works better that way," Jimmy replied. He put the paper down and looked at his ex-wife. They still were not sure that they wanted to be married again. Both of them were afraid of what it would do to the girls if it did not work out, again.

"You don't think it is her and Ryan, do you?" Julie asked. "I mean, I was never a fan of him, but he seems to make her happy."

"I hope not. Maybe it's school, or something," Jimmy shrugged. He started to read the paper again.

"Maybe, well, I need to get going to see his attorney. I'll see you later," she said, waving to Jimmy as she walked out the door.


	6. Family Matters

Julie sat in one of the chairs in the waiting room for Caleb's attorney. His secretary was making phone calls, and doing various things. Julie had been there for fifteen minutes, but was beginning to wonder if his attorney even knew she was there. Clearly, his secretary had not notified him that she was there. She began to get impatient. Things were running through her head. She knew that they would be able to _live_ without Caleb's money, but they would not be able to have all the amenities or luxuries that they have now.

Finally, Julie went up to the secretary and asked whether he knew she was here or not. The secretary paged the lawyer to inform him that Julie Cooper-Nichol was there to see him regarding her late husband and his estate. He responded, and told her to wait one moment, and he would be right out to meet with her. A couple of minutes later, the attorney appeared from behind closed doors.

"Mrs. Cooper-Nichol? I'm Mr. Nichol's attorney, John Becker. Would you like to step into my office?" He asked Julie. He was an older man, who did not appear to be that much younger than Caleb, himself. She walked into his office and he followed her. Julie sat down in one of the chairs in front of Mr. Becker's desk. He sat down at his desk, and looked at her. "Now I understand that you have some questions about the estate of your late husband, is that correct?"

Julie nodded her head, and replied, "Yes, I was just wondering why it is taking so long for his will to be read."

"Well, Mrs. Cooper-Nichol, as you know, Caleb was a very powerful business man. He stipulated that there be a waiting period with reading his will. For many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons why his will cannot be read right yet is because none of his children are present. I understand that his eldest daughter, Kirsten, is in a substance abuse treatment facility - " the attorney started to explain.

"What does that have to do with anything? Kirsten isn't in the treatment center anymore. She's visiting with friends. Do all of his children have to be here to have the will read?" Julie asked.

"In ten days, when the waiting period is up, yes. All three children and his son-in-law have to be here for the will to be read," Mr. Becker explained.

"All three children?" she asked. Julie knew that this meant Lindsey too, but she was surprised that she had been included in the will.

"Yes, all three daughters. Kirsten Elizabeth Nichol Cohen, Hailey Katherine Nichol, and Lindsey Renee Wheeler-Gardner. None of whom are present at this time anyway," the attorney replied. "And his son-in-law, Sanford Cohen."

"So everyone you just named needs to be present, in order for the will to be read?" Julie asked, once again.

"Yes, that's correct," he said.

"I see... Well, thank you for your time," Julie told him. She stood up and shook his hand. Then she swiftly exited the room. She could not believe that she had to get all three girls in there, so that his will could be read. Granted, Kirsten - especially Kirsten should be there, but she could not understand why Lindsey needed to be there, unless she was receiving some sort of benefit as well.

Author's Note

There will be no updates on this until Sunday night because I am going to Vermont for two nights to look atThe University of Vermont,and to visit Vermont because I have never been there before. That's right, I'm a sheltahed Mainah!


	7. What Lies Ahead

Sandy walked into the courtroom that morning with a feeling of peace. He put on the power suit - a blue suit, white shirt, and red tie. Subconsciously, this did wonders. He walked over to where the offices were - more specifically to where the Judge's chambers were. He had requested to have a word with the judge over the homicide of Trey Atwood, and his client, Marissa Cooper. He checked in with his secretary, and sat outside of his chambers until the judge called him in. The judge came out of his chambers and walked over to Sandy.

"Sandy Cohen! How are you?" the judge asked. Clearly, the two men knew each other.

"I'm good, I'm good. How's being a judge?" Sandy asked him. He shook his hand.

"It's great. How's the D.A.'s office?" he wondered.

"Well, it's a long story, but I no longer work for the D.A.," Sandy replied.

"Oh, well, that's too bad to hear, but why don't we step into my office?" he asked. Sandy nodded and followed the man into his chambers. The judge, who was not wearing his robe then, sat down at his desk. Sandy sat down in front of him. "Now, Sandy, I wanted to talk to you today because of the case that you're involved with. I'm the judge that is going to be trying the case, as you already know. I'm sure that you also must know by now, that no one wants to convict a girl with no priors who was trying to save a young man's life, but not everyone feels the way most of us do. There is someone from Trey Atwood's family who is trying to get Marissa convicted for manslaughter. Do you have any idea who it is?"

Sandy looked at him. He really could not think of anyone, and said, "His mother."

"No, but nice guess. It's his father," the judge replied.

"His father? From what I understood John Atwood was in prison," Sandy told the judge.

"He is, for another week. John Atwood is scheduled to get out of prison in eight days," he informed Sandy. "He also knows that you have custody of his younger son, Ryan, the one Marissa Cooper was trying to protect. This man is not happy about it."

"I see... so what does this mean?" Sandy asked.

"This means that John Atwood could interfere with this case, and he could try and petition for custody of Ryan again," the judge explained. "This is what I wanted to warn you about, Sandy. He doesn't have a lawyer, but since the D.A. is representing Trey Atwood, that will probably the first person he goes to talk to."

"Does he know where Ryan is living?" Sandy wondered.

"He might, through talking to his wife, Dawn Atwood, although I don't know how much they have spoken since his imprisonment in... 1999. If he doesn't know where Ryan is exactly, he can find out through child services rather quickly," the judge replied. "I just wanted to warn you about what is coming down."

"Well, thanks," Sandy replied. He got up out of the chair, and shook the judge's hand. "I'll see you soon. Take care."

"Will do. See ya later, Sandy," the judge replied. Sandy walked out of that office more nervous than when he went in. He wondered what Ryan's father could do. He knew that John Atwood would have some influence in the court proceedings because he was Trey's father, but could he take Ryan from the Cohen house?


	8. Cafeteria Conversation

Marissa walked into the lunch room at sat down at her new usual table. At Newport Union, they were not allowed to leave the premisses for lunch. Her lunch room was a large cafeteria. It had gray, rectangular tables with stools to sit on. There were three different lunch lines. The usual school lunch line. The choices in this line changed every day. Then there was the sub line, and finally there was the grill line. She had gone through the sub line, which also made salads, which is what she got. There were also three different lunches at her school to accommodate all the kids, unlike Harbor, where there was only one lunch for all the kids.

"Hey, guys," Marissa said to the other kids.

"Hey, Marissa, what's up? We were just talking about doing something after school? You want in?" Casey asked her. Marissa looked up at her. She was chewing a bite of her salad that she had gotten.

"Oh, I don't think I can today, guys," Marissa told them.

"Why not?" Casey asked. "Got plans with Newpsies?"

"Well, I wouldn't call them Newpsies, at least not yet, but uh... sort of, I mean, if Ryan counts as one," Marissa replied.

"Ryan can come. We like Ryan. I think he's cool," Casey said.

"It's not like that. He's... getting his son for the weekend, for the first time, and I thought I would go over to help out, and to make sure he doesn't kill Theresa," Marissa replied.

"Your boyfriend has a kid?" Casey asked in disbelief. "And who's Theresa, the kid's mother."

"Yeah, she is, and it's a long story," Marissa replied.

"I bet. How are you taking it?" Casey asked.

"As good as I can. I guess Ryan didn't know anything about it 'til last week either, so we are really both at the same place, emotionally," Marissa explained. She picked at her salad. Talking about this, although it was good, had made her lose her appetite.

"Well, we can do something some other time, but I'd love to meet the mini Ryan sometime. Can I come over and meet him?" Casey asked.

"Sure, I guess. I mean, probably not tonight, but maybe sometime during the weekend," Marissa told her.

"Cool," Casey said.

"Maybe you and Ryan want to catch a movie with us next week?" Jack, Casey's boyfriend, asked.

"Sure, sounds great," Marissa replied. "I'm doing something with Summer on Monday, but after that looks good."

"Cool," Casey replied.

"Can I ask you guys something?" Marissa asked.

"Sure," Jack replied.

"Do many kids have babies here?" Marissa wondered.

"Yeah, sure, plenty of kids have babies. It not uncommon here. There's like a ton of girls that are pregnant," Jack replied.

"Really, but I don't see any," Marissa said.

"You don't know that many people, so you aren't going to get all the gossip, first of all. Second of all, it's only November. Wait 'til spring. Then they'll be blooming," Casey informed her.

"Gosh, I never realized how prevalent teen pregnancy was," Marissa replied.

"Well, that's because you went to like a cult school for like forever. They would kick you out if you got pregnant," Jack said.

"True," Marissa answered. She finished her lunch silently. She wondered how that night would go.


	9. High Chairs and Bottles

Ryan and Seth drove straight home from school that day. Seth had considered hanging out with Summer, but he thought that it might be good to be there for Ryan when the baby arrived for the night. It was obvious to Seth that Ryan was nervous. Ryan had never babysat for anyone before, let alone had a child of his own to watch. He was very pensive. His hands kept moving on the steering wheel.

"Hey, Man, you don't have to do this, if you don't want to. I think Theresa would understand if you needed more time," Seth said to Ryan.

"Look, I know that you're just trying to look out for me, but he's my kid, and as nervous as I am, I have to take care of him," Ryan replied. "I want this kid to have a father. One who's there."

"I know," Seth said as Ryan pulled into the driveway. Marissa was supposed to meet them at their house when she got out of school. Now that she went to public school, she actually got out of school a little later than when she went to Harbor. Sandy's car was home when Ryan and Seth came home, which was odd, considering normally he was at work. Ryan turned off the Range Rover, got out of the car, and went inside. Seth did the same.

"Hey, Dad, why are you home this early?" Seth asked.

"Hey, Fellas!" Sandy exclaimed. "Actually, I took the afternoon off. I wanted to be here when Theresa got here with the baby. Ryan, here's the check."

Sandy handed the check to Ryan, and Ryan replied, "Thanks, I really appreciate this."

"No problem, Kid. Well, actually there is one problem. Where's this baby going to sleep tonight? We don't have any cribs or anything like that anymore. I think we got rid of all that stuff when we moved here from Berkeley," Sandy told Ryan.

"Actually, Marissa's coming over after school, and she has some of that stuff lying around her house, she said. I guess her mom never got rid of the stuff after Kaitlin grew out of it," Ryan explained.

"Oh, okay," Sandy said. Then the doorbell rang. Sandy walked over from the living room to answer it. The girl at the door was Marissa.

"Marissa! How are you?" Sandy asked.

"I'm good. I brought some stuff over," Marissa told them. "Ryan, can you help me get it out of the car?"

Ryan nodded, and he went out with Marissa to get the baby stuff out of the car. Seth turned to Sandy and said, "This is weird... having a baby in the house. Ryan having a baby in the house."

"I know, Son, but this is the way it is," Sandy told him.

"I know, Dad, but it's just... weird," Seth replied. Marissa and Ryan came in the house with a rectangular box, and a high chair. They set them down right near the stairs. "What's that?"

"What's what?" Marissa asked.

"That box. Is that like a play thing or something?" Seth wondered.

"No, it's a portable crib, like a playpen," Marissa explained. "It's where the baby can sleep."

"Oh," Seth said, in response. "Is that all you brought?"

"Yeah, how much did you think I was going to bring?" she asked.

"I don't know. How much do babies need?" Seth asked.

"Clearly not as much as you think," Marissa replied. Ryan brought the high chair into the kitchen. Marissa picked up the box, and brought it into the living room. "I'm going to leave this here, for now. Does anyone know how to assemble it?"

Ryan looked at Seth. Clearly, neither of them had been around young children much. Neither of them knew how to do it. Then they both turned to look at Sandy, in hopes that he might know how to assemble such a piece of equipment. "And you Fellas think I can assemble this?" Sandy asked jokingly. "Well, it so happens that I can."

"Um... what about food? Like baby food?" Seth asked.

"I think Theresa is bringing that," Ryan told him. "And if she isn't we'll just go get some, it's no big deal."

After they had put everything where it needed to be, they waited for Theresa in the kitchen. The four of them sat around talking about various things, just trying to make small talk until Theresa arrived with the baby. Clearly, everyone was a little edgy about it. Sandy decided that they would have pizza for dinner that Friday night. He ordered two pizzas. One with Pepperoni and one with plain cheese. About ten minutes after he ordered the pizzas, the door bell rang. Ryan went to answer it. It was Theresa.


	10. Fathers and Sons

"Hey, Ryan," Theresa said. She was holding a baby carrier, which was dark blue in one hand with Matthew inside. She had a large baby bag with Peter Rabbit on her shoulder. She looked very motherly.

"Hey, Theresa. Want some help there?" Ryan asked. He took the baby carrier from her, since it looked quite heavy with the six-month-old baby inside.

"Thanks," she replied. She stepped into the Cohen's house, and followed Ryan into the kitchen where Marissa, Seth, and Sandy were waiting. She stopped when she saw them. For some reason, Theresa was intimidated by all of them together, particularly Marissa. Something in Theresa said that she had power - the ability to influence people. Ryan put the baby carrier down on the island with the baby still inside. Sandy was setting the table, while Seth and Marissa were sitting at the island.

"Hi, Marissa," Theresa said.

"Hi, Theresa," Marissa said. There was an awkward silence between the two.

Ryan walked over to Theresa, and said, "Here's your check." She thanked him.

"So what do we need to know about little Matthew here?" Sandy asked, trying to get onto something a little lighter.

Theresa beamed. She clearly liked people wanting to know about her son, and replied, "Well, he goes to bed pretty early. Usually between seven and eight in the evening. I try for closer to seven, but it depends on how easily he goes down. When he is going to bed, I try and read him a book every night, like _Bernstein Bears _series or something likethat. I give him a bath every night before bed too."

"What about food?" Sandy asked. "Did you bring any, or should we go pick some up?"

"He's already been fed for tonight. He eats once during the night, and throughout the day. I brought some cerial, baby food, and pumped breast milk," Theresa replied. She could see the disgusted looks on Ryan and Seth's faces.

"Breast milk?" Seth asked. Theresa nodded. She smiled because she knew he was grossed out by it.

"Will we run out of anything?" Ryan asked.

"Maybe, if you do. You can find it at the grocery store. If you run out of milk... buy some formula. That will work too. Oh, and I brought several outfits and pajamas. There are plenty of diapers too. His size, in case you need it is 1 in Pampers," Theresa told them. She looked at Ryan. Clearly the look he was giving her said that he did not know what any of this meant. Luckily, Marissa and Sandy did.

"We'll make sure he's fine, Theresa," Marissa told her. She smiled at her.

"We'll anyway, I should be going. I told my mom I'd go to the movies with her tonight," Theresa said. She smiled and began to walk over to the front door. Ryan walked over with her. "Take care of him, Ryan."

"I will," he replied, as she walked out the door. He closed the door, and walked back into the kitchen. Seth went off into the living room to watch some television, and Sandy got something to drink. The only ones left doing nothing were Ryan, Marissa and the baby.

"Hey, wanna take him into the living room and play with him?" Marissa asked Ryan.

"Sure, okay," Ryan replied. He picked up the baby carrier and brought it into the living room. They sat on the floor with that and the baby bag. Marissa took Matthew out of the carrier, and sat him down on the floor against the bottom of the couch. She took a couple of toys out of his bag. He grabbed one and put it in his mouth.

"Who's that? Who's that? Is that your Daddy?" Marissa said to Matthew. She looked over at Ryan who clearly looked a little uncomfortable with the idea of being a father. "Are you okay... with this?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's just going to take some getting used to," Ryan told her.

The baby continued to suck on the toy. Marissa looked at Ryan and asked, "I know that Theresa said that he's your baby - that he looks so much like you, but he's six months old. I mean, how much do babies look like their parents at six months. Did you ever consider getting a paternity test done?"

"No, why would I? She's my oldest friend, and I trust her. Theresa wouldn't lie about something like that," Ryan told her.

"Yeah, but you're going to be paying all this money for the next eighteen years. You might as well know if the baby is really yours," Marissa said to him.

"As if this isn't already complicated enough!" Ryan exclaimed.

"I'm sorry," Marissa replied. She looked at the baby and then back at Ryan. "I should go. My parents wanted me to have dinner with them and Kaitlin tonight, anyway, and I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do."

"Okay, I'll call you tomorrow," Ryan replied. Marissa stood up, and began to walk over to the door. Ryan walked over with her, gave her a kiss, and let her out. Then we went back over to where the baby was sitting. As he soon found out, there was not a lot that a person could do with a little baby. Ryan began to think while he was sitting on the floor with Matthew. He wondered if a paternity test would not be a bad thing.


	11. The Worry

Before Sandy went to work that day, he thought that he might call Kirsten. He had not heard from her in awhile, and wanted to know how she was doing, and to let her know what was going on back home. Sandy picked up the phone in their room, and dialed the number she gave him. He heard it ringing on the other end. Someone picked up on the third ring.

"Hi, is Kirsten there?" Sandy asked.

"Hi, Sandy, it's me," Kirsten replied. "It's great to hear from you."

"Same here," Sandy told her. "So how are things going?"

"Good. Things are really good here, and at work, right now. In fact, I'm getting ready for work right now. Charlotte has already left for work. How are things at home?" Kirsten wondered.

"That's terrific. I'm glad things are going well for you, Honey. So you want to know how things at home are?" Sandy asked. "I'll tell ya, there a lot different from when you left."

"Well, I know that. Nothing in that town ever stays the same. Something interesting is always happening," Kirsten said with a grin.

"Honey, you might want to sit down for this," Sandy told her.

"Is something wrong?" Kirsten asked, as she sat down in a chair.

"Remember Ryan's friend, Theresa?" Sandy asked rhetorically. "Well, remember how Ryan went to Chino and came back to Newport last summer because of Theresa and how she 'lost' the baby?"

"Yes, I remember," Kirsten replied.

"Honey, she didn't lose the baby. Theresa lied to him, and now... she's demanding child support," Sandy told her.

"Oh, my God... well, is he okay?" Kirsten wondered. "I feel like everything is falling apart"

"He will be. It just has to sink in first. No one expected this. I think everything will come together, in due time," Sandy replied.

"I hope. How much does she want?" Kirsten wanted to know.

"$362 a month, which isn't that bad," Sandy replied. "At least not for us to pay."

"Wow... so what else is new?" Kirsten asked.

"There is one more thing. It has to do with Ryan, and it's very important. Do you know anything about his father, John Atwood?" Sandy asked.

"I know that he's in prison for armed robbery, which occured in Fresno," Kirsten said.

"That's right, well, according to a heads up that I got - because of the case with Marissa and Trey - it turns out that John Atwood is getting out of prison in just a few days. Less than a week," Sandy told her.

"What does this mean for us?" Kirsten asked.

"Well, the judge told me that... he could try and get Ryan back. I don't think he has a great chance, but the courts always favor the biological parents, especially the mother. Of course, I don't know if he will try and petition for custody of Ryan, but he could, and I wanted you to know about it," Sandy told her.

"Of course," Kirsten replied. "If there is anything that I can do... let me know."

"I will. I should finish getting ready, but I'll talk to you later?" Sandy asked. "In fact, why don't I meet you for lunch, considering you're working?"

"Um, sure, that would be great!" Kirsten replied. "We can talk about this some more. But one more thing."

"Yes?" Sandy questioned.

"Have you told any of this to Ryan?" Kirsten asked.

"No, not yet. I didn't know how," Sandy said.

"You need to. Please, tell him," Kirsten answered.


	12. So Close

Sandy met Kirsten for lunch at this lovely place near The Newport Group. He had known for a while that she was back at work. At work, Kirsten was doing most of the work. Julie tried to help; however, she did not know the ins and outs of the business as well; However, he had resisted trying to visit her because he did not want to force her to do anything that she did not want to do. Sandy wanted Kirsten to choose to come home in her own time. He knew that she would come home, but she would do it on her own.

Sandy walked into the restaurant and approached the person who was seating people. He told them that he was meeting his wife, Kirsten Cohen, for lunch, and was wondering if she had arrived yet. The maitre'd told him that she had arrived and she was sitting out on the deck. He told Sandy to follow him out there, which he did.

Sandy saw Kirsten for the first time in two months. She looked amazing. Her hair was parted on the side and was straight that day. She was wearing a dark blue business suit with a white collared shirt. Kirsten looked very professional that day. Sandy could not take his eyes off her. She looked even more beautiful than the day he met her, in his mind. Kirsten was flawless, in Sandy's eyes. Although Kirsten always thought that Sandy had never loved her as much as he loved Rebecca Bloom, she was wrong. Otherwise, he would have never married her. Sandy loved her more than anything in the world, and he hoped that she knew that, after twenty years of marriage.

"Hi, Sandy," Kirsten said, greeting him warmly.

"Hi, Honey," he replied. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek, and then sat down next to her. He took the napkin out of it's holder, and placed it on his lap. Kirsten smiled at him. "What's that about?"

"I just didn't realize how much I missed you," Kirsten told him. "So have you told him yet?"

Sandy knew what she was referring to. He could not bring himself to tell Ryan about what he had learned. He had tried, but it was so hard. Sandy answered, "No, I haven't."

"Why not? You know that if we tell him later, rather than sooner, he'll be even more upset. Ryan isn't a little boy, and he needs to know what could happen," Kirsten explained.

"I know that, Kirsten, but it's so hard. He's our son. That's what he is to me. Our son, and I can't bear the thought of... losing him," Sandy said. He browsed through the menu.

"Yeah, I know, but we'll have to see what fate has in store for us, now wont we," Kirsten replied. "So what are you going to have today? I'll pay."

I was thinking about some of those crab cakes that I love so much. How 'bout you?" Sandy wondered.

"I'm going to have a lobster roll," Kirsten answered. "How's the Ryan and Theresa thing going?"

"I don't know. We'll have to see. He doesn't like any of it -," Sandy started to say.

"Well, of course he doesn't," Kirsten said, cutting in.

" - But he's dealing with it. Marissa's been a big help with all this. She knows more about young children than Ryan and Seth combined," he told Kirsten.

"Well, what about you, don't you help?" Kirsten questioned.

"Of course, Honey, but the baby's only been over the one time," Sandy replied, defending himself.

"When is he scheduled to come over again?" Kirsten asked.

"The weekend after this coming one," Sandy told her. The waiter came up to them then, and asked what they were going to order. Kirsten told the waiter their orders, and the couple continued talking. "You know I've missed you a lot. Everyone has. Ryan. Seth... everyone."

"I know, Sandy, and... I'm sorry for not coming home right away, but I just didn't feel ready to come home yet, and I didn't want to let you, or the boys down again," Kirsten explained.

"I know that, Honey, and you wont let us down again. I know you," Sandy replied.

"I just want to make myself sure of that first," Kirsten said.

"Do you think about coming home much?" Sandy wondered.

"Sometimes. More now," Kirsten answered. She took a sip of her water.

"Well, you know we'd love to have you," Sandy told her. He smiled at her. Sandy hoped that his words would resonate with her, and she might choose to come home and be with her family.

A/N - For any inaccuracies that have been made in the previous chapters, such as the size of the baby's diaper, or the amount of child support warrented, I don't have any recent experience with this type of thing, seeing as how I'm seventeen. I'm sorry for the inaccuracies; however, they were mainly (at least the child support one) for the plot of the story.


	13. Fathers and Daughters

Marissa walked into her house after school that day to find her father sitting and watching television in the family room. He was by himself, since Julie was at work, and Kaitlin was still at school, although he had to go and get in a half an hour. Jimmy did not have a job yet in Newport, mainly because of what had happened two years earlier with the accounting business; however, things were more hopeful for him now. He had been doing some work on the side for the Newport Group, while Kirsten had been away. In fact, he had been doing such a good job, that the company was considering hiring him on, at least part-time. Jimmy did not know this, though.

Marissa walked into the room and sat next to her father on the couch. He was watching some ESPN Classics. Jimmy always felt that they were "soothing". He was sitting on the white leather couch drinking a Pepsi and having a bag of Doritos when Marissa came in. She dropped her bag on the floor when she sat down.

"Hey, Kiddo, how was school?" Jimmy asked his elder daughter.

"It was good, Dad. In fact, I kinda like Newport Union," Marissa said to her father.

Jimmy smiled at her and said, "That's good. I'm glad to hear it. So what's up? I thought you'd be with Ryan... or Summer... or some of your new friends right now."

"I was going to hang out with Casey, but I just didn't feel like it. I like coming home once in a while. It's quiet here, and I can think," Marissa explained. "Dad, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it, Kiddo?" Jimmy wondered.

"What was it like for you when you found out that Mom was pregnant... with me?" Marissa asked. She wanted to know if her father had the same reaction, as she was having with Ryan.

"I - I was scared to death. I remember that I went to pick your mom up in Riverside, and she got in the car, and we just pulled out of the driveway, and... she told me. Suddenly, a thousand different things started running through my head, and I couldn't believe what was happening. My whole life was going to be changed for... forever," Jimmy started to explain. "I was this twenty-three-year-old guy who was going to be having a baby with a seventeen-year-old girl. She was eighteen when you were born, but at the time, it wasn't even legal for us to get married for another six months. Your mom was still in high school, and I was just starting my business."

"Did you ever think that you would break-up because of it... because of me?" Marissa asked.

"Honestly, Kiddo... yeah. There was a point when I wondered if we'd make it. Everything changed. Suddenly the problems we had before were so insignificant in comparison. Instead of worrying about where we would hang out, we had to worry about where we would live, if we would get married, and how I would support the both of you," Jimmy told his daughter. "But don't _ever _think for one second that I didn't love you or want you because I have always loved you, and wanted you. You were the best thing to ever happen to me, and your mom. Even though it was hard at the time, we got this amazing child, who has turned into an amazing young woman right before our eyes."

Marissa beamed with pride, and replied, "Thanks, Dad."

"So what's with all the hard questions? Is something wrong?" her father asked.

"No, everything's fine," Marissa told him, which was not the entire truth.

"Are you pregnant?" Jimmy asked, sort of jokingly. He knew that Marissa was not pregnant, but he knew that something was wrong, in order for her to be asking questions like this.

"No, Dad, I'm not," Marissa replied. "It's just that..."

"It's just that... what?" Jimmy asked. "Come on, Kiddo, you can tell me. We tell each other everything."

Marissa took a deep breath, and decided to tell her father what had happened, after all, he was like her best friend. She did tell him everything. Marissa said, "Remember when Ryan went back to Chino last summer because his ex-girlfriend, Theresa got pregnant with a child that may or may not have been his?"

"Yeah, I remember. But Ryan came back. Theresa lost the baby," Jimmy said, filling in the blanks.

"Well... Theresa lied to Ryan. She didn't lose the baby, Dad, and now, she's back making Ryan pay child support," Marissa confided in her father.

"Oh, my God..." Jimmy trailed off. "How are you doing with it? I mean, it's a pretty big deal."

"Okay, I guess. There's nothing I can do about it. He's pretty freaked out, though," Marissa replied.

"I'm not surprised. Having a kid, or finding out that you already have one is a pretty big thing," Jimmy told her. "Just try not to let it come between you. Ryan and you have been through so much already. Don't let your relationship come to an end over this, Kiddo."

"I know, Dad, and I don't want it to, but it'll take some getting used to," Marissa told him.

"Yeah, it will, but everything will turn out all right, in the end," her father reassured her. "Don't worry."

Marissa smiled at her father, and said, "Thanks, Dad. That's just what I needed to hear."

"Glad I could help, Kiddo. Hey, do you want to come and pick up your sister with me?" Jimmy wondered.

"Sure, I'd love to," Marissa replied. While she went with her father to pick up Kaitlin, she wondered about what Ryan was thinking about the paternity test.


	14. Family Ties

Julie walked into Kirsten's office that day with a mission. She needed to know if Kirsten would round up Hailey and Lindsey, in order for the will to be read. Julie was running out of money. Her lavish lifestyle could not be supported without the money that was in Caleb's will. Kirsten was sitting at her desk in her office doing some work on her computer. Things around the Newport Group now a days were not very hectic.

"Hey, Kirsten, can I come in?" Julie asked.

"Sure, what's up?" Kirsten asked in response.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about your father's will. Do you know what he wanted?" Julie wondered.

"Dad was never really open about anything like that. I know he got his will changed when my mom died, but I don't know anything past that," Kirsten said. "Don't you know what he wanted?"

"I didn't, that is until I talked with his attorney," Julie replied.

"So what did Dad want?" Kirsten questioned.

"Well, according to the attorney, in order for the will to be read, all of his children have to be present. Naturally, you, and Sandy would be there. He didn't say anything about Marissa and Kaitlin," Julie began to explain.

"They should probably be there too," Kirsten told her.

"That's what I thought too, but he also said that _all_ Caleb's children have to be there, which means Hailey and Lindsey too. I was wondering if maybe you could get in contact with them," Julie said.

"I can try. I know Hailey is busy right now, but I'm sure she could find some time. Renée, Lindsey's mother, gave me their address in Chicago, for if anything came up, so I'll try and reach them, as well," Kirsten answered.

"Thanks, KiKi," Julie replied. Kirsten hated it that Julie called her that, but she knew that it was a sign of friendship, almost. Closeness, anyway. Julie left her office almost immediately after Kirsten said that she would get in touch with her other siblings, which she decided to do then, considering she had the time, and there was nothing better to do. Kirsten got Hailey's number out of her Rolodex, and began to dial it on the company phone. One thing, for sure, at least she would not have to pay the long distance charges.

"Hi, is Hailey Nichol there?" Kirsten asked. The receptionist told her to wait one moment while she transferred her to Hailey's extension.

Hailey picked up on the other end and said, "Hello, Hailey Nichol, speaking."

Kirsten smiled. She could not believe how grown up her kid sister was, and all in the space of one year. Then again, she was no longer a child. She was twenty-six years old. Kirsten said, "Wow, you sound so grown up."

"Keeks!" Hailey asked in excitement. She was very happy to hear from her sister. Hailey was also concerned about how things had gone at the treatment center.

"Hey, Hail. Gosh, I was going to leave you a voice mail. I never thought you would be at work right now. In fact, I don't even know what time it is right now in Japan. So what's up" Kirsten asked her sister.

"Well, it's around midnight here We're having a sort of crisis right now, which is why I'm in the office," Hailey explained.

"Oh, well, should I let you go?" Kirsten wondered.

"No, I want to hear from you. How you've been doing and stuff," Hailey told her.

"I'm good. I've been working and living outside of the treatment center for two months," Kirsten told her. "It's been good."

"Hey, that's great. I'm proud of you, Sis. I just wish Mom would have done the same," Hailey replied.

"Yeah, I know, but she was just as stubborn as Dad, which is why they worked, I guess," Kirsten answered. They were silent for a moment, and Kirsten thought it would be a good time to mention about the will. "Listen, Hailey, the reason I called was because there's some news about Dad's will."

"What news?" Hailey asked.

"Julie talked with his attorney, and he said, that _all _of Dad's children have to be present for the will to be read. It's what Dad wanted, I guess," Kirsten explained.

"Okay, so that's both of us, Sandy, and the Cooper kids, right?" Hailey said. "All that's missing is me. I'll try and get over there as soon as possible."

"Well, actually, Hailey there is something that someone needs to tell you, probably me," Kirsten began.

"What is it?" Hailey wondered.

"We have another sister," Kirsten told her. She waited for her reaction. The line was silent for a moment. She knew that Hailey was trying to process the information.

After a moment, she said, "We - we have another sister?"

"Yeah, we do. She's Seth and Ryan's age. Remember when Mom and Dad were going through that hard time? That's when it happened," Kirsten explained. "Her name is Lindsey. She lives in Chicago now - with her mother."

"Well, how do you know that she is actually Dad's child, and why didn't anyone tell me about this?" Hailey questioned.

Kirsten knew that someone should have told Hailey, but with her living in Japan, it was hard to remember to tell her. Besides, with her past of gallivanting all over the world, most of time, people did not have a phone number for her anyway, so most of time, people did not bother to contact her. "Dad had a DNA test done last year, when light was shed on the whole situation. It proved that she was in fact his daughter, and our half sister, and I guess that we forgot to say anything because most of time, in previous years when you didn't have a phone, we couldn't contact you."

"Yeah, I realize that now I should have had a phone then, so people would remember to tell me these things now," Hailey replied. "Well, anyway, I'll try and get the first flight that I can, so we can resolve this mess."

"Thanks, Hail. I'll try and contact Lindsey now," Kirsten replied. Hailey shuddered on the other end. She could not believe her father had done anything like that. They said their goodbyes, and Hailey went back to work, while Kirsten tried to contact the Wheeler-Gardner's. She found the number Renée gave her, and dialed it. It rang three times before someone answered. It was Renée.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hi, this is Kirsten Cohen. Is this Renée?" Kirsten wondered.

"Yes, it is. What's going on?" Renée asked.

"Um... several months ago, my father passed away, as I think you already know. Well, there was a waiting period, set by my dad for his will to be read. Now that period has passed, but in order for it to be read, all of his children have to be present, and Lindsey was named. I was wondering if maybe you and Lindsey could come out here for a couple of days, so that we might get this business with his will cleared up," Kirsten explained. "You wouldn't have to stay long."

"All right... but I want to talk about it with Lindsey first, before I say anything definate, is that all right?" Renée asked.

"Sure, but can you let me know by tomorrow?" Kirsten wanted to know. "How is Lindsey doing?"

"She's okay. She misses California, but she doesn't want to leave Chicago either. Anyway, I'll let you know tomorrow, absolutely," Renée said. They hung up with each other. Finally, Kirsten thought, the will would be read.


	15. The Truth

Sandy took Kirsten's advice, and decided to tell Ryan about his father as soon as possible. He knew it would be hard. Probably harder for Sandy to tell, than for Ryan to hear. Sandy figured that Ryan had some idea as to when his father was getting out of prison; however, since this had happened when Ryan was twelve, he figured that Ryan did not know that much about what happened at the court proceedings.

Both the boys were not home directly after school that day. Neither was Sandy. He was at work, trying to get some stuff together about Marissa's case - trying to keep her record clean. That afternoon, Seth was with Summer. He was going to try and make a better impression with her father over dinner at her house. It was Summer's idea, and the two of them were going to cook it. It had been over a year, and he had only met the man once. Clearly, he was not much of a homemaker. Ryan was with Marissa and some of her new friends at Newport Union. He was adjusting to her new friends, which was good for both of them. This made the adjustment for Marissa that much easier. Sandy knew Ryan would be home for dinner, though, which is when he was going to talk to him.

After work, Sandy came home and walked in the house. No one was home yet. It was five-thirty at this time. Sandy opened the freezer, and threw a frozen pizza into the oven. He figured that would be a good dinner for just himself and Ryan to talk over. It only took ten minutes to cook the pizza.

Around then Ryan walked in. Marissa had to go home to eat with her family. The therapist said it would be a good thing for Marissa to do this every night, and that her family should do it, so that way she has some semblance of a family life. Therefore, Ryan came home to eat dinner with just Sandy. He walked in the front door, and threw his stuff down in the kitchen. Things had become a little more lax since Kirsten was not around.

"Hey, Kid, how 'bout some pizza?" Sandy asked. He put some plates on the table.

"Sure," Ryan replied. He got some soda's out of the refrigerator, and put them down where he was going to be eating, at the island.

"Ryan..." Sandy began. "Do you ever think about your dad?"

"Sure, I guess," Ryan said. He sat down in one of the chairs with his plate of pizza. "I never really thought about it much."

"Was your dad a nice guy?" Sandy asked. He wanted to get a feel for if Ryan even wanted to see his father again.

"Not really," Ryan answered between bites of food. "He used to throw me and Trey around a lot."

"Ryan there's something I have to tell you," Sandy began to say.

"He's getting out of jail, isn't he?" Ryan wondered.

"Yeah, he is. How did you know?" Sandy asked.

"Just a guess. We've never talked about my dad before, so I figured that it had something to do with it," Ryan said.

"Well, he's getting out, in just a couple of days from the prison in Fresno, and he is one of the people, in fact, the only person I've heard of that is fighting for your brother on this case," Sandy told Ryan.

"Not surprised. Dad didn't love me and Trey. He was stuck with me and Trey. Dad wants money - that's what he wants," Ryan explained.

"That's too bad because we love having you," Sandy said. "But it's been said that if your dad wants, he can find out where you're living exactly, in fact, your mom could have already told him... and he has the right to petition for legal custody. Now no one is saying that this is going to happen, but what is being said is that it is a possibility."

Ryan took a deep breath. This was a lot for him to take in. He replied, "Hypothetically, what are your chances of being able to keep me?"

"Good. Very good. Your father was in jail, which doesn't help his case, and the court will see how much better you've done under our care," Sandy answered. "Don't worry, Ryan. Kirsten and I will never lose you"


	16. The Talks

Later that night, Ryan was in the pool house playing some ninja game on the Playstation 2. He became bored after dinner, with Seth not being home and all. Therefore, he thought it best to whip out the video games. In fact, he was waiting for a phone call from Theresa that night. They wanted to iron out the details for Matthew's next visit. Ryan was still thinking about the paternity test; however, he was not sure that he wanted to do it. Theresa had never lied to him, especially about something as important as this, and he was not sure he wanted to question her truthfulness now.

It had now reached nine 'o clock in Newport Beach. Ryan finally beat the fifth level, which was not an impressive accomplishment for him. Usually, he could go quite far in the game without any work. This time, since he was so preoccupied with what was going on in his life right now, that the game was now intensely difficult for him to play.

Just when Ryan was on the sixth level, Seth walked in. He was moderately nice dressed. Seth had on a sweater vest with a shirt underneath with some corduroys and Converse sneakers. He looked slightly disappointed.

"Hey, Man, how did things go?" Ryan asked. He still stared blankly into the screen.

"Not good, Man. Her dad like hates my life. I didn't think that I could do worse - " Seth started to explain.

" - But you did," Ryan filled in.

"I really wanted to make it work this time too. What's Summer going to think now..." Seth pondered aloud. He sat down on the floor, picked up the second controller, and began to play two players with Ryan.

"Well, she stayed with you before, so she will again," Ryan reassured him.

"I know, but I really wanted to make a good impression this time," Seth said. "So how are things here?"

"They've been better," Ryan replied.

"How come?" Seth wondered.

"My dad is getting out of prison in less than a week, and could very well get custody of me. Theresa is supposed to call me about details for this weekend, and I'm still thinking about... a DNA test," Ryan answered.

"What? Are you sure she's lying about the paternity, Man?" Seth asked.

"I don't know, and probably not, but Marissa suggested it because we don't know for sure if he's mine, and if I'm going to be paying child support, then... I should know," Ryan explained.

"True, very true. So what's this business with your dad. You're not going to leave us, are you?" Seth asked.

"No, I don't plan to, and I don't want to, but I guess my dad has a shot of getting custody of me - if he tried," Ryan said.

"How big of a shot?" Seth wondered.

"Not a big one, but if he decided he wanted to, it could cause a mess, I guess. I don't know - it's what your dad told me," Ryan answered.

"Oh, well, we'll do whatever it takes to keep you, Dude," Seth replied.

"I know," Ryan replied. The phone began to ring and Ryan went to answer it. It was Theresa. She was calling about what time to bring Matthew over this weekend, and things of the sort. Ryan listened, and spoke when necessary, but he did not mention anything about a paternity test - not yet. He could not bring himself to do it.


	17. The Second Chance

Summer sat on the couch in the student lounge at Harbor. She was reviewing her chemistry notes for the upcoming test. Summer always knew that she never was as intelligent as everyone else. Most of the other kids were off taking Advanced Placement courses and other intellectually stimulating classes, while she was in some classes that they had already taken in previous years. Summer was by no means "stupid"; however, her intellect was not as superior as some of those around her.

Seth walked in and sat down next to her. He wanted to talk to her about what had happened the previous night with her father. He was very quiet first in his "Cohen" way, for he was not sure how to approach the subject with her. Summer seemed slightly pissed from what Seth could tell last night. He hoped to make amends with her that day.

"Hey, Summer," Seth waved at her. He was pretending to study one of his text books.

"Cohen," Summer cordially replied. She still looked immersed in what she was doing.

"I know you're kinda busy, but I just wanted to say that shirt is a lovely shade of pink... and I'm sorry for messing up with your dad, again," Seth said.

"Good, you should be. Maybe you'll do better next time," Summer replied without looking up from her notes.

Seth looked at her very taken aback. She didn't yell at him, or break up with him. All Summer said was that he might do better next time. Seth thought about it and said, "Next time... there is going to be another chance?"

Summer slowly nodded her head, and answered, "After some careful consideration on my dad's part, he decided that he wanted you to take him out sailing."

"He know's that I like to sail?" Seth wondered.

"After I told him. Anyway, it should be fine. I wont be there, and you like sailing," Summer explained.

"Uh-huh..." Seth trailed off. He thought to himself that this could not be good.

_Sorry for the shortness of the chapter. I really wanted to do a chapter about Seth and Summer, but it's been hectic recently with school starting, finishing summer homeworkand everything. _


	18. The Lies

It was a beautiful fall day that Friday afternoon. Ryan, Seth, Summer and Marissa had been let out of school. They were doing their various things. Marissa was at home with her parents and Kaitlin, spending some quality time with them. Summer was with Seth at the pier, and Ryan was at home trying to neaten up before Theresa and the baby came over. He figured he ought to get things ready before they came over.

Meanwhile, in Chino, Theresa was also trying to get things ready for Matthew to go to Newport. She gave him a bath, fed him, and put him in some clean clothes that he would just spit up on in five minutes. She found that to be the grossest part to having a baby - the amount of spit up they produced. Whenever she looked at him, she saw his father. It was so apparent in his appearance who he looked like. His eyes, his hair, and his nose. All of his features looked like those of his father.

Theresa went into the baby's room and began to pack his overnight back with several outfits, sleep wear, diapers, and toys. For someone so small, there was an incredible amount of stuff to pack for one weekend. She knew that it would be impractical to have two sets of everything, considering he would only be in Newport for just two weekends each month, although it would make things easier.

Before she forgot, she thought that she might call Ryan, and let him know that she was on her way with Matthew. This way, he could have things prepared ahead of time, and know when to expect them. Theresa walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the hook. She dialed the area code, and then the number. It rang several times before someone answered.

"Hello?" Ryan answered.

"Ryan, it's Theresa, I'm going to come over with Matthew now, okay?" she told him.

"Yeah, sure, that's fine. I'll see you when you get here," Ryan replied.

"Okay, bye," Theresa said. She hung up the phone. She turned around to walk into the other room to grab the baby and his things, so that she could leave to go to Ryan's.

"Does he still believe you?" Eddie asked her.

Theresa nodded her head, and replied, "I think so."


	19. The Will

Everyone nervously gathered in the lobby that morning. No one knew what lied ahead, or behind the closed doors. They were not nervous because for any good reason, but because they wanted to know what Caleb had left them. Although they tried not to show it, each person was wondering how much they would get from this dead man's will, and what everyone else would receive.

Julie, Kirsten, Sandy, Hailey, Lindsey, Marissa, Kaitlin, Ryan, and Seth waited quietly for the attorney to request their presence. No one knew what to say to anyone else. Marissa, Ryan, and Seth waited together. While Kaitlin, Julie, Kirsten, Hailey, and Sandy waited together. Lindsey was in the middle alone. She knew this was how it would be. Lindsey always knew that she never really fit into her family. She just was not one of them. Maybe she was not cool enough, or maybe she was too brainy. Any way it was put, she knew that she did not fit perfectly into the Cooper-Nichol-Cohen puzzle.

"Well, this isn't weird at all," Seth said, to break the silence among them.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ryan replied. Lindsey raised her eyebrows. He looked over at her. "Hey, I'm sorry if this is weird for you... On many levels."

"Really, it's fine. This isn't weird at all. My estranged father is dead, so now I'm waiting with my estranged family to have his will read," Lindsey said sarcastically.

"Yeah, this really does suck," Marissa chimed in. "I'm sorry if this is weird for you, Lindsey. You know, me and Ryan being together."

"It's really okay. I was the one who left, right? Besides, you two are made for each other. It was pretty obvious, even when we were dating," Lindsey answered.

"Sorry 'bout that," Ryan replied quietly. He looked very sullen with everything that was on his mind Especially Theresa and the baby. Lindsey looked over at him and smiled. "So where are you staying? Maybe we can all hang out while you're here."

"We're staying at the Mermaid Inn," Lindsey said.

"Oh, we know where that is, right?" Marissa said. She looked at Seth, Summer, and Ryan for support.

"Yeah, we all know where that is. Especially Ryan, buddy. He knows that place best," Seth answered. They all knew what that meant. The Mermaid was the place Theresa had stayed at when she was in Newport. That is where Ryan had gotten her pregnant.

"Seth, you can shut up now," Ryan replied. He glared at Seth.

"Um... okay," Lindsey said. Clearly, she was a little lost in their conversation. "But I don't think it's a good idea to hang out tomorrow."

"Come on, it's probably going to be one of your last nights in Newport. It'll be fun, I promise. And I promise that it wont be like the last time we hung out. We can all go out to eat or something," Marissa told her, remembering their "girls night out", which turned into Lindsey getting drunk and passing out.

Lindsey thought about it for a moment. It was not that she did not want to hang out with Ryan, Seth, Summer, and Marissa, who was her step-sister; it was just that she was not sure she would want to leave Newport after she hung out with them. She replied, "Well, I guess... as long as it doesn't turn out like last time!"

"We promise," Summer chimed in. "And if it does start to suck, I'm sure Ryan and Marissa can spice things up by finding someone to get in a fight with."

"Thanks, Sum, really," Marissa replied sarcastically.

"I'm just saying," Summer replied. "So tomorrow, we'll all come to pick you up, okay?"

Lindsey nodded, and said, "Okay, sounds great!"

The group became silent again. Everyone was very nervous. Then, Caleb's attorney, John Becker came out. He introduced himself to everyone, and asked that everyone step into his office, where they could all talk in a more private place.

"I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to come here. Especially Hailey and Lindsey because they have had so far to travel. Now anyway, let's get down to business. As I'm sure you all know, Caleb Nichol was a smart man. He had several accounts, in many different places. Today, we'll start with Caleb's children and work our way out, if you will," the attorney explained.

Everyone seemed to take in a deep breath. No one knew what had been left for them - not even Julie or Kirsten - the two women who were closest to him at the time of his death.

"Kirsten and Sandy Cohen, your father left you the Newport Group, and three of his accounts, which come to the total of... $12 million dollars," Mr. Becker began. "Hailey Nichol, you were left as much. Now this money is not accessible at the moment. I want to make this clear."

Everyone looked at each other. Everyone knew that Hailey and Kirsten would get the most money, considering they were Caleb's daughters.

"Lindsey Gardner, your father actually left you something tangible, at the moment," the attorney began. He walked over and gave it to her. It was an envelope with a letter inside. A very long letter. "He also left you $6 million dollars."

Lindsey's jaw dropped. She could not believe that a man she did not know for the better half of her life was being this generous with his assets. Kirsten smiled at her.

"Now for the others. Seth Cohen, your grandfather left you $2 million dollars. He also left something saying that you cannot manage it until you're eighteen, though," Mr. Becker said. "And that is all that I have today, and I would like to thank everyone for coming. I will be contacting each one of you individually about how to proceed with your new found wealth."

Julie looked flabbergasted. She could not believe that she was not getting one penny out of Caleb's will. Julie felt almost slightly embarrassed. She could feel her face becoming red. Everyone got up and began to leave the room. Lindsey and Hailey were the first ones out into the hall.

"You're Lindsey, right?" Hailey asked.

"Yes," Lindsey replied.

"Hi, I'm Hailey," Hailey reached over to shake Lindsey's hand. "So you're the brainiac sister Kirsten's been telling me about..."

"Well, I don't know if I'm that smart," Lindsey answered. She beamed. She was glad her family considered her smart.

"It's nice to finally meet you. How old are you?" Hailey asked. "I'm twenty-six."

"I'm seventeen, but I'll be eighteen soon," Lindsey replied.

Hailey looked at her watch, and said, "Well, anyway, it was nice meeting you, finally! I have to go, though, so I'll see you later, maybe at Kirsten's? "

"Yeah, sounds great," Lindsey answered. She was uncertain about getting involved with the Cohens' again, but she decided to take the risk - considering she would only be there for the weekend.


	20. The Group Hang

Late the following afternoon, Ryan, Seth, Marissa, and Summer pulled up to the Mermaid Inn with the Range Rover. They had decided that they could all fit into one car. Ryan turned off the car, and they all got out and walked over to where the front desk was, since none of the kids knew where Lindsey's room was. They all stood in front of the clerk, who was watching reruns of _Gilligan's Island_. Ryan stepped forward to talk to the clerk.

"Hello," Ryan said. The clerk turned around and saw the group.

"Oh, hi! How can I help you?" he asked.

"Do you know what room Lindsey Gardner is in?" Ryan answered.

"Let me check," the clerk replied. He got onto the computer to check. They waited for a moment. "Uh... she is in room number... 4."

"Thanks," Ryan answered. Seth, Summer, Ryan, and Marissa walked out of there, and up to her room on the second floor. Ryan once again stepped forward to knock on her door. They waited a moment for someone to come. Then her mother answered the door.

"Hi, Ryan. You guys are here to pick Lindsey up, right?" Renée asked.

"Yeah, is she ready?" Ryan wondered.

"Yes, want to come in?" Renée offered. She opened the door wider. The group of kids stepped inside the room without saying a word. Lindsey came out of the bathroom momentarily. She did not look any more glamorous than before she left. She had jeans and a sweater on. Her hair was curled, which was something a little more classy, though.

"Hey, guys," Lindsey said, greeting everyone.

"Ready to go?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah," Lindsey replied. She turned to her mother. "Mom, I'll be back later."

Her mother smiled and waved at her, as the five of them walked out the door. They walked down the corridor, down the stairs, and out to the Range Rover, which Ryan drove. They all pilled in the car. Ryan and Marissa in the front, while Seth, Summer, and Lindsey sat out back.

"So where are we going?" Lindsey asked.

Marissa shrugged and replied, "The diner. We figured you hadn't had a good short stack in awhile."

Lindsey smiled, "Yeah, I really haven't."

The five of them went to the diner, and had dinner. They sat and lingered for awhile, exchanging stories and other things that had happened while Lindsey was in Chicago. Most of them were minor things. No one said anything about what had happened with Trey, Ryan, and Marissa. Nor did anyone mention anything about Theresa and the baby. Eventually, they ordered and ate.

Lindsey really enjoyed herself. While she had been going to school with these kids, she hated them. Well, she did not hate them, but she did not enjoy herself either, while now, she was truly happy to be in California with these people. They did not have people like this in Chicago.

After dinner, the five of them went down to the pier where they were having some festivities to celebrate the coming of Thanksgiving. There was face painting and things of the sort for people to enjoy. They broke off into groups when they were there. Seth and Summer went to go have their faces painted, while Ryan, Marissa, and Lindsey went over to see the sunset on the water. They stopped at a cart to get some pier fries..

"So how were your summers?" Lindsey asked. "Anything interesting happen?"

Ryan and Marissa looked at each other. Neither one of them was sure they wanted to tell Lindsey what had happened, but then again, they were not sure that they could keep it from her either. Marissa replied, "You really wanna know?"

Lindsey nodded her head. Marissa sighed.

"Ryan's brother Trey got released from prison, then he tried to rape me. Ryan found out, and tried to kick his ass, but Trey ended up almost killing him, so I shot Trey," Marissa explained very quickly.

"What?" Lindsey asked. She paused for a moment, and looked at Ryan. She seemed slightly confused. "You have a brother?"

"It's a very long story, but yes, that was summer in a nutshell," Ryan replied.

"Did Trey die?" Lindsey asked.

"No, he took off to Vegas or something like that after," Ryan answered. He ate another pier fry.

"Wow... there really is never a dull moment in Newport," Lindsey sighed. "Did you get convicted? How does the school like that?"

Ryan and Marissa looked at each other. Marissa said, "Actually, I don't go to Harbor anymore - because of what happened."

"They kicked you out!" Lindsey exclaimed.

"Yeah, they did. Ryan got to stay because he didn't do anything wrong, but now I go to Newport Union High School," Marissa explained. "I haven't gotten in trouble yet either. The trial is still coming, though."

"Wow," Lindsey said again. Everyone became quiet for a moment.

"You know, I think I'm going to go over and get a bottled water," Marissa stated. She slowly meandered her way over to the hot dog stand where the bottled water was. Lindsey took this opportunity to talk to Ryan alone.

"Listen, I'm really sorry for leaving the way I did," Lindsey said. "I hope I didn't hurt you... too much."

"I understand," Ryan replied. "I mean, you had to do what you had to do. To be honest, I probably would have done the same thing."

"Well, to make it up to you, do you want to go to the Baitshop tomorrow night? You, me, and Marissa?" Lindsey asked. Ryan smiled. He knew that it would come out eventually. That he would have to eventually say it out loud - that he had a son.

"I wish I could, but I can't. Although Marissa can, I mean, if you're still looking for someone to go with," Ryan replied.

"Oh, okay, but I was kind of hoping to repay you for leaving," Lindsey said.

"I know, but I have someone coming over tomorrow, and I'm not allowed to blow it off," Ryan explained.

"Who's coming over. Hailey said to stop by before I left, so can I meet this mystery person?" Lindsey asked.

"I never thought I would have to say this," Ryan said to himself. He sighed and turned to look at Lindsey. "Tomorrow, Theresa, my ex-girlfriend, is coming over to bring over our son, Matthew."

Lindsey looked at him perplexed. She did not understand how he had a son. Lindsey had heard people, like Caleb, talk about the girl he had gotten pregnant that summer, but Ryan had told her that the girl lost the baby. "Your son? You never told me about this when we were dating."

"That's because I didn't know about it when we were dating," Ryan replied. "It's complicated."

"Wow... How is Marissa dealing with it?" Lindsey sighed. She wanted to ask Ryan more, but she knew that it was not her place because she was not his girlfriend anymore.

"Okay, I guess. The best that she can, anyway," Ryan stated. Marissa walked back and sat down next to them. She handed a water to Ryan and one to Lindsey as well.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Marissa asked. Ryan and Lindsey looked at each other.

"Actually, I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to go to the Baitshop tomorrow night or something, Marissa?" Lindsey asked.

"Uh, sure, that sounds fun," Marissa replied. She saw Seth and Summer walking towards them. They got up and walked towards them. Everyone decided that it was time to go home, and went to the Range Rover, where Ryan drove them all home. They dropped Lindsey off first, then Summer, Marissa, and Seth and Ryan drove home.


	21. The Sail

Seth walked over to the dock where Summer's father, Neil Roberts was waiting for him. Even when he was going to go sailing on a little catamaran, he looked very stern and business like. Seth was wearing an old t-shirt with some board shorts, while Neil was in some pleated shorts, a polo shirt, and some docksiders. When he saw Neil, Seth waved.

"Hi, Mr. Roberts, sir," Seth waved shyly. Seth stepped onto his catamaran. Mr. Roberts followed.

"Hello, Seth," Neil greeted him sternly. Seth began to untie the boat from the dock.

"Ready for your sailing adventure?" Seth asked. He tried to be nice, and hoped to ellicit a good responce from Summer's father.

"Not really. Just don't kill me, and we'll call it good, how 'bout that?" Mr. Roberts replied. He still looked extremely stern. He stepped onto the boat after Seth, put on his life jacket, and sat down. "So where are we going today?"

"No where in particular. I just thought it might be nice to go for a sail," Seth replied. He was extremely intimidated by Summer's father.

"I see," Neil replied. Seth got them away from the dock to begin their sailing adventure. He took them around the bay for a bit, and then sailed over to Catalina, where the two of them stopped for lunch. Seth brought the little boat ashore, where he unpacked the cooler, and they had their sandwiches.

Finally, Neil cut to the chase and said, "So what do you want, my approval for you to date my daughter?"

Seth finished his bite, and replied, "Yes, sir, that's exactly what I want."

"Honestly, sometimes I wonder where Summer found you, and how on earth she is attracted to you," Neil stated. "But I want my daughter to be happy. She's the world to me. When her mother and I got divorced, I tried to do everything in the world to keep her happy. I've always been honest with her, and she has always been honest with me, which is how I know that she loves you, and that you're the only one she has ever _loved_. Seth, I don't like you, but I want her to be happy, so why don't we call it good, okay?"

Seth looked somewhat surprised, and replied, "Um, all right, Sir."

"Seth, another thing, stop calling me 'sir'," Mr. Roberts told him.


	22. The Walk In

Seth walked into the kitchen that morning feeling very lethargic. He could not stand going to school anymore. He tried not to show it, but he was really beginning to miss his mother. The only reasons that he did not run away again was because Ryan was still living with them, and he did not want to jeopardize his relationship with Summer, again.

He saw Ryan sitting at the island eating some dry cereal from the box and drinking some black coffee. Seth walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed some orange juice. He went over to where Ryan was sitting and sat down next to him.

"Hey, Man, what's up?" Ryan asked.

"Not much, Dude. Eating breakfast. Not much else," Seth replied.

"What are you doing after school? Wanna hang out? Put in some quality Ryan and Seth time?" Ryan asked.

"I can't, Man. It sucks. I have to help Summer battle Taylor Townsend at Drama Club. There getting ready for the fall play, and they need people to help building sets," Seth stated.

"Summer does drama?" Ryan wondered.

"Yeah, her father thought it would be good to get involved this year with school. He thought it would be good for her college transcript," Seth explained.

"Huh… interesting," Ryan replied. "Theresa is bringing Matthew over later. Like around dinner."

"Ahh, very fun. Sounds like you have an excellent weekend planned," Seth replied sarcastically.

Ryan looked at his watch and then looked at Seth and said, "Hey, Man, you ready to go?"

Seth nodded while still drinking his juice. He put the cup in the sink, grabbed his messenger bag, and walked out the door with Ryan. They got into the Range Rover, which was still theirs to drive until Kirsten came home. Seth drove them to school that day. The two of them usually switched off on who would drive to and from school. They parked the car and got out, ready to start their day.

* * *

After school Seth and Summer walked into drama. He could not stand being in the auditorium with those people. Especially Taylor Townsend. Seth could not stand anything about her. He thought she was very neurotic and possibly a little on the crazy side. Summer could not stand her skanky ass either.

"Hey, Cohen, I have to go backstage to get ready. We're doing costume measurements today. Go talk to that tall guy over there. He'll tell you what to do," Summer pointed over to a tall, blonde, freshman. Seth obliged and went over to the kid. He could not stand that a freshman was in charge. He hated the fact that he was a senior, and would be taking orders from a freshman.

"Hey, Dude, I'm here to help with the stage props. What do you want me to do?" Seth asked.

"Uh… can you go back over there," the boy said. He pointed over to the double doors where the side hallway was. It was where they were keeping the wood to build with. "Can you go over there and bring me six 2x4's and three buckets of paint?"

"Yeah, sure," Seth replied. This was not something that he wanted to be doing, but then again, Summer really did not enjoy Seth's comic, so he felt like it only fair to help Summer out with this. He walked over to where the boy directed him, and began to pick up wood. It was there that he heard some noises. He stopped what he was doing and listened. Seth then began to walk over to where he heard the noises coming from. It was there that he saw them - the Dean of Discipline and Taylor Townsend. They were making out. He could not believe what he was seeing.

AUTHORS NOTE: I did not intend for this chapter to be in here originally, or this story line, but when I saw the Dean and Taylor on the show Thursday night, I had to run with it. Honestly, I think there is something going on between the two of them, and I wanted to shed fictional light on it.


	23. The Secret

The doorbell rang and Ryan went over to answer it. He knew that it was Theresa dropping off Matthew for the weekend. Even though this had been going on for sometime, he still did not feel the connection to the kid that he thought a father should have with his child. It was not that Ryan was not trying because he was. Maybe it was the fact that he was not present when the baby was born, or maybe it was the fact that he still did not know for certain that the baby was his. Theresa had always been honest with him, but there was no concrete evidence about this.

Ryan opened the door and said, "Hi, Theresa."

"Hey, Ryan. How are you?" she asked, just to be polite.

"I'm fine. Actually, I was wondering if we could talk for a minute," Ryan suggested.

"I'm in kind of a rush, actually," Theresa replied.

"Well, I think you can wait a minute," Ryan retorted.

"Fine," Theresa shrugged. She seemed slightly annoyed. "What is it?"

"I want a DNA test done," Ryan blurted out.

Theresa looked at him in shock. She did not know what to think. Did Ryan know her secret, or did he want this test blindly not knowing. She replied, "You want a DNA test?"

"Yeah, I do. Look, I know that you have told me time and time again that Matthew is my son, but if I'm going to be paying this much money for eighteen years - I deserve to know that he really is my son," Ryan explained.

Theresa sighed, and said, "Let me think about it. We'll talk about it more on Sunday when I come to get him."

"Fine," Ryan replied. "I'll see you then." Slightly pissed off, he took the baby things from her, and closed the door behind her. Ryan could not understand that if she was so sure that the baby was his, then why would she object to a DNA test. He set the things down in the kitchen on the counter with the baby still in his seat. It was there that he found Seth sitting at the island.

"Hey, Man, what's up?" Ryan asked.

"Dude, you're not going to believe what I witnessed today," Seth began.

"Oh, yeah, what's that?" Ryan wondered. He went into the refrigerator and grabbed a carton of orange juice.

"Well, after school, while I was helping Summer out with her drama thing," Seth began.

"Summer does drama?" Ryan asked. "Since when?"

"Her dad thought it might be nice to have at least one extracurricular activity on her transcript, seeing as how it's senior year, and she doesn't have any," Seth explained. "But anyway, I was there helping her out - they need people to like assemble sets and stuff. You know, big burly men."

"Uh-huh..." Ryan said.

"Well, anyway, I was getting some 2x4's out of the back room, when I saw them," Seth smiled.

"Saw who, Man?" Ryan probed.

"Dean Hess and Taylor Townsend," Seth replied.

Ryan slowly put down the orange juice and looked at Seth, and replied, "What?"

Seth nodded and smiled. He said, "Yep, Man, I'm not kidding - Dean Hess and Taylor Townsend were going at it in the back room of the auditorium."

"Well, did you get evidence?" Ryan wanted to know.

"Nothing concrete, if that's what you mean, but I have some lovely memories of what I saw," Seth answered.

"Dude, you gotta get evidence of this. Do you know what this could mean? Marissa could go back to Harbor!" Ryan exclaimed. "Have you told anyone else about this?"

"No, not even Summer, yet," Seth replied.

"Good keep it that way. I'll tell Marissa, and we'll go from there, how about that?" Ryan suggested.

"Sounds good, Man, but if I might ask? Are we going under the cover of darkness to uncover evil deeds again?" Seth asked.

Ryan glared at him. He was estatic and could not believe what he was hearing. If Seth could get evidence of this affair, then it was possible for Marissa to go back to Harbor.

"All right, just wondering," Seth said.


	24. Meet John

The next day, early in the morning, the doorbell rang. Several times. Sandy, Seth, Ryan and the baby were all asleep. The person kept ringing the doorbell until he got some sort of response. He saw both cars in the driveway and figured that someone must have been home. Finally, Sandy got up and went over to answer the front door. He seemed slightly ticked off that someone would have the audacity to ring his doorbell repeatedly at such an early hour. He opened the door and found a man standing there. He was not tall. On the short side, actually. He had blonde hair, and did not appear refined in any sense of the word.

"Hello, can I help you?" Sandy asked, standing there in his pajamas and his bathrobe. He appeared to be upset.

"Uh... Mr. Cohen, is it? I'm here to see my son, Ryan," the man explained.

Sandy looked somewhat surprised. He knew that Ryan's father was getting out of prison, but he was surprised at the fact that he had taken the time to find Ryan. He replied, "Ryan's here, but I think he's asleep. Come in."

John Atwood followed Sandy into his kitchen and said, "Wow, Ry really did well for himself."

Sandy retorted, "Well, he's in a better living situation anyway. I'll go get him up."

"No, It's fine - really. I don't want you to wake him up. I just wanted to know how he was doing, I mean, with everything that's happened to him this summer," John said. "And I want him to know that I do plan to do everything in my power to get that son-of-a-bitch girl who shot his brother behind bars."

"What do you know about Trey's shooting?" Sandy asked. He went over to the refrigerator and got some orange juice out. He poured himself and Mr. Atwood a glass.

"I know that some girl shot Ryan's brother and that he almost died. That's what I know," John answered.

"Did you know that Trey tried to rape the girl who shot him, Marissa Cooper? Did you know Ryan started the fight with Trey that night? Did you know that if Marissa had not shot then, Trey would have killed Ryan? And did you know that Marissa Cooper is Ryan's girlfriend?" Sandy retorted.

John took in the information and replied, "I knew that Trey tried to rape that girl, but come on - that's trivial - she tried to kill him. Trey would never kill Ryan. Ryan's his brother."

"Clearly you haven't been around your kids lately," Sandy said. "Listen, I'm telling you. Please don't press charges. The Coopers are having a hard enough time as it is, and I don't think Ryan would ever forgive you if you did."

He didn't say anything. John just went on drinking his coffee. Then, Ryan walked into the kitchen with the Matthew in his arms. He saw Sandy standing at the island. Ryan could not tell who the other person was.

"Hey, he will just not stop crying," Ryan said, referring to Matthew. "Do you know what to do? I changed his diaper."

"Have you fed him yet?" Sandy wondered.

"No, that's a good idea. I'll get the milk out," Ryan replied. He set Matthew in his baby carrier on the kitchen table, and went over to the fridge. He got the milk out, and as Ryan was closing the refrigerator, he saw him - his father.

"Hi, Ryan," John said.

"Dad. What are you doing here?" Ryan asked.

"I just got out a couple of days ago, and I heard from your mother how nice you had it down here, and I had to see it for myself," his father explained. He didn't say anything about pressing charges with the shooting.

"Well, I'm fine, Dad," Ryan answered, "Really."

"I can see that," his father said. He looked over at Matthew. "Is that your son?"

Ryan glared back at his father, and answered, "It's complicated."

"You're seventeen, and you have a son. I can see that it's complicated," John replied.

"Oh, come on, Dad. Don't preach to me. You and Mom were sixteen when you had Trey!" Ryan yelled.

"Fine, I wont. Anyway, I should probably go. I just wanted to see how you were doing, Ryan," his father said. He got up out of his seat, and began to walk towards the door. Sandy walked behind him to let him out.

Finally, Sandy cut to the chase and asked, "Are you planning to try and take Ryan away from us?"

When they got to the door, John turned around and said, "No. I don't want to take him away from you. I saw the look on his face when he saw me. Ryan doesn't really know me, or want me anymore. He's happier here with you. I just hope that you do a better job with him that Dawn or I ever could with him and Trey."

"Thanks," Sandy replied. "One more thing. Do you still plan to press charges on Marissa Cooper?"

"I'm not sure. I know Trey could do some stupid things, but he was my son, and he deserved to die with dignity."


	25. The Fight

That Sunday, Theresa came back to pick up Matthew. She was incredibly nervous because she knew that Ryan was now asking for a paternity test. Theresa could not bear the thought of him finding out the lie she had created; however, it was too late to tell him the truth. All she could do was hope that maybe Ryan would change his mind somehow, and that maybe he would trust her on good faith alone. Probably not, though, considering he never trusted anyone. Theresa knocked on the Cohens' door. Sandy answered.

"Hey, Theresa, Ryan and Matthew are right inside," Sandy said.

"Thanks, Mr. Cohen," Theresa replied. She walked into the house behind Sandy and followed him into the kitchen where Ryan and her son were. "Hi, Ryan."

Sandy looked back and forth between the two of them and said, "I'll leave you two alone." He walked off into the living room.

"So have you thought about it - the DNA test?" Ryan asked, point blank.

Theresa slowly nodded, and replied, "I have, and I think that it's unfair of you to not trust me on good judgement. I've never lied to you before, and I certainly wouldn't start now. Therefore, I'm saying 'no' to the DNA test."

"You're saying 'no'?" Ryan repeated. "You want me to pay out money for eighteen years without honestly knowing that your son is mine?"

"Yes, because he is yours. I'm telling you the truth!" Theresa yelled at Ryan.

"Then let's do a paternity test! If you're so god-dammed sure, then lets take the test!" Ryan screamed. He paused for a second. No one said anything. "I'll get a court order if you don't want to do this voluntarily. My lawyer can get one easily."

"You wouldn't," Theresa gasped. She knew that there was no way to hide her secret.

"I would. I can get one tomorrow," Ryan told her. He appeared to very extremely pissed.

"Fine... whatever. I'm going to get Matthew and go now," Theresa replied. She walked over to the table to grab Matthew and his things. Then she turned around to walk out the door. Ryan did not follow her this time to make sure she got out okay.

Sandy walked into the kitchen. Ryan still had not moved from where he was standing. Sandy said, "I think you're doing the right thing, kid."

"You think so?" Ryan wondered.

"Yeah, I do," Sandy answered. "I'll talk to the judge in the morning. We can go do this tomorrow."

"Thanks, Sandy," Ryan replied.


	26. Little White Lies Exposed

The following morning, Sandy Cohen walked into the Orange Country Court. He waited to see a judge, who was a friend of his. They had gone to law school together at the University of California at Berkeley, and he had tried several of Sandy's cases in the past, when he worked in the District Attorney's office. The judge called him into his office, where Sandy was given the court order to have Theresa Gonzales give her son a paternity test. He did not ask any questions, and just signed the order. Sandy thanked the man, and drove back to Newport to get Ryan, so they could go to Chino to see Theresa, and to get the paternity test. They had not called Theresa to let her know that they were coming.

Meanwhile, in Chino, Theresa was really beginning to worry. She had not gone to work that day, she had been so worried. Theresa was afraid of what could happen if he or anyone else were to find out about what she had done. Although she and Ryan were not together, she still cared for him, and did not want him to find about the lie she had told him. She paced up and down her living room, trying to think of what to do next. Her mother was at work. It was only she, Eddie, and the baby that were home that day. Eddie was supposed to be out finding a job, but he claimed that there was "nothing out there", which was probably at least somewhat true. They still lived with her mother because of how hard it had been to find work recently, and since Arturo was still in prison, the baby slept in his room.

"What am I going to do?" Theresa said quietly as she paced.

Eddie looked up at her from where he was sitting drinking his beer and asked, "Do about what, Baby?"

"Ryan and the DNA test," Theresa replied. "He's going to know that I lied, and he could _sue_ us."

"Those tests aren't always accurate, are they?" Eddie asked.

Theresa glared at Eddie and answered, "They use them in court as proof, so they must be pretty accurate."

"Oh," Eddie replied. He took another drink of his beer. Matthew started crying in the other room. Theresa looked distressed. She went off down the hall to get the baby. Eddie continued to sit in his chair, drinking his beer, and watching television. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Without thinking, he got up with his beer, went over to the door, and opened it. On the other side of the door were Ryan and Sandy with a court order for a paternity test.

Ryan looked at Eddie, completely in shock. He could not think of anything to say. The three of them stood there for a good minute before anyone said anything. Finally, Ryan said, "Eddie, what are you doin' here, Man?"

Eddie waved the beer at Ryan and replied, "Well, I could ask you the same thing."

Sandy stepped forward before Ryan did anything else. Sandy could see it in Ryan's eyes that he just wanted to kill Eddie. He said, "Hi, Sandy Cohen, I'm Ryan Atwood's attorney. We're here to see Theresa Gonzales."

"Uh... yeah," Eddie replied. Just then Theresa walked around the corner with Matthew in her arms. She saw Ryan, and he saw her.

"Ryan," she said.

"Theresa," he replied. Eddie got out of the way, and took Matthew from Theresa. He went into the other room. He knew that something was going to happen, and he did not want to be apart of it. Ryan and Sandy stepped into the house. Ryan looked around for a moment and then focused on Theresa.

"And you said you weren't lying that Matthew was my son," Ryan muttered. "Clearly, that was a lie."

"Ryan don't jump to any conclusions, please," Theresa pleaded.

"What? Do you expect me to believe that he is mine now!" Ryan exclaimed.

"I don't know, but what I do know is that he might not be Eddie's either," Theresa began to explain.

"What are you talking about? You're living with him. Obviously this baby is his son," Ryan concluded.

"Just because Eddie and I are together doesn't mean that this baby is his," Theresa explained.

"Then what does it mean. Clearly, he is a father to this child. He plays with Matthew, changes his diaper, reads to him... that's being a father. If you questioned his paternity earlier, why didn't you and Eddie get a DNA test?" Ryan wondered.

"Ryan look around you. Does it look like we have the money for something like that? I'm a waitress. Eddie doesn't have a job, and my mom doesn't make much money at her job, either," Theresa replied. "We don't have money for a DNA test. We don't even have health insurance."

"When did you and Eddie get back together, then?" Ryan wanted to know.

"About three months after you left. I was seven months pregnant with Matthew," Theresa answered.

"And even though you and Eddie were happy living together as a family with this baby, you had the audacity to ask me for child support because you knew that I would be able to give you a large sum each month, for eighteen years, which would keep you afloat in hard times, and give you extra cash in better times - even if this baby was not actually mine. This is fraud, Theresa. Jesus Christ, you could go to jail. Then what good would you be doing your son! Huh!" Ryan yelled.

Theresa began to cry, and replied, "I'm so sorry, Ryan. I'm so sorry about everything."

Sandy stepped in before Ryan would say anything else to make Theresa feel worse. He said, "All right. Let's calm down." He walked over to Theresa's and put his hand on her back. Sandy over up at Ryan. "Let's fix this before it gets any more out of control. We can go down and solve this today, all right?"

Theresa wiped the tears from her face, nodded her head and said, "All right."

Ryan nodded his head as well. He appeared to be much more calm than she was. He answered, "All right. Let's do this."

Theresa got Matthew, his baby bag, and went out to the car, where she put him in the back and drove to the hospital where they would get this done. Sandy and Ryan followed her, each person wondering what the results of the test would bring.


	27. Biology 101

The four of them - Ryan, Sandy, Theresa, and Eddie waited for the results of the paternity test in the doctor's office. Ryan and Matthew had taken the test the previous day; however, the results were not available until that day. Everyone was nervous. Sandy and Ryan sat on one side of the room, while Theresa and Eddie sat on the other side of the room. Ryan was not as nervous as he appeared. He had been through this once before with his former flame, Lindsey, and her own paternity. Ryan hated having to do this, but clearly seeing Eddie on the other side of the room, Theresa had not been honest with him about the situation, and he needed to know. Matthew deserved to know.

The doctor walked into the room with the results. She sat down at her desk with the folder. Everyone looked at her very intensely.

"I assume that you're all here for the same thing," the doctor began.

"Yes, we are," Sandy replied.

"Okay, then, let's get to it, but first, there is one thing I want to say. Clearly, the personal lives of you young people is not my business," she began. She looked back and forth between Ryan, Theresa, and Eddie. "But this is not the way to have a relationship, or to bring a child into this world. Especially at your age. Anyway, the results of the test show that Ryan Atwood is not the father of Matthew Gonzales."

Suddenly a sense of relief spread across Ryan's face. This enormous burden had just been lifted from him; however, at the same time, he was also filled with rage. How could Theresa have lied to him about this? He had grown up with her. Ryan thought he knew her. Clearly, he did not.

Theresa was filled with guilt and sorrow. She was ashamed of what she had done, and how Ryan had found out about everything. Now she would have to live with this for the rest of her life. Silently, she got up and walked out of the room. Eddie did not follow her; however, Ryan did. He found her sitting outside of the office on a bench.

"Deep down, you knew the whole time, didn't you?" Theresa asked. She could not bring herself to look up at Ryan.

"Honestly? Yeah, I wondered about it. Did you know the honest truth before today?" Ryan wondered.

"We'd never done a DNA test. Eddie didn't know I was pregnant when he left, and when he came back, I told him everything - about sleeping with you, and how you had been there for me all summer. I also told him that the baby could be his too, and we both figured that since you and I had only hooked up once, that it was a better chance that the baby was his..." Theresa trailed off. "When money got tight, this seemed like a logical thing... I didn't mean to hurt you, ever."

"Thanks," Ryan replied. He was not upset, but disappointed in her. "You know, even after I left Chino, Theresa, I never stopped loving you. You're my oldest friend. Always have, always will. And I hope you're happy. Do a good job with him - Matthew. Do better than our parents did with us."

Sandy came out, and motioned to get going.

"Thanks, Ryan. Maybe I'll see you again someday," Theresa replied.

"Maybe. Goodbye," Ryan said, as he began to walk off with Sandy. Eddie came out as he was walking away. He waved Ryan off.

Sandy turned to Ryan as they were walking away and asked, "Are you upset about what Theresa did?"

"Not really. I'm relieved in a way, and happy for them," Ryan replied.


End file.
